Tess Holliday

Tess Holliday leads the first Curve Catwalk at London Fashion Week

On Thursday night, seven women of all different body shapes kicked off London Fashion Week in Simply Be’s “Curve Catwalk” — the first of its kind.

Led by size 26 model Tess Holliday, who recently hit back at claims she’s promoting obesity, the models strutted down the runway in stunning florals, velvet, and sequins — and they also wore T-shirts emblazoned with their clothing size.

The Curve Catwalk, hosted in London’s Soho, was described as “a celebration showing that fashion is for everyone regardless of size or shape.”

Recently, Simply Be conducted a study that found that 89 per cent of its customers didn’t feel their size was represented in advertising, on runways, or in media. The study also revealed that more than 50 per cent felt “ignored” by mainstream retailers when it comes to clothing displays and adverts.

“This isn’t about thin shaming — we just think it’s time we saw more diversity in terms of size in magazines, in advertising campaigns and on runways at fashion weeks around the globe,” said Angela Spindler, chief executive of N Brown Group, the owners of Simply Be.

“Fashion should not be defined by ability, size, age, color or gender choice,” added Knox, who is the U.K.’s leading model with a disability. “Fashion is for everybody.”

The London event follows TheCURVYcon 2017 in New York City, which was livestreamed by Yahoo Lifestyle. Now in its third year, the body-positive, curve-embracing event, founded by lifestyle influencers Chastity Garner and CeCe Olisa, took place on Sept. 8 and 9, bringing designers, fitness experiences, influencers, and speakers to town — including none other than Chrissy Metz, who stars on This Is Us, to deliver the keynote address.

Click through the slideshow to see photos from the Curve Catwalk, and let us know what you think in the comments.

Yahoo Lifestyle is live streaming the entire first day of LFW. Head here to watch all the shows and get all the backstage action.